For almost 50 years now, the Consejo Profesional de Relaciones Públicas de la República Argentina [Professional Association of Public Relations in The Argentine Republic] has been the Public Relations referent in the country.It gathers the professionals in the field, sets ethical standards, safeguards professionalism, promotes the profession research and development in the market, and protects the interests of its members.

Ethics

The Association has a Code of Ethics for individual members and for Consultancies.

Membership

Number of members: 657

There are two membership categories:

Individual members
Individual members are divided into two groups

Active Member: University degree in Public Relations or Communications, or 5 years of continuous professional experience

Associate Member: PR or Communications student or less than 5 year experience in the field

Consulting Firms
Consulting firms are divided into two categories: Active Consulting Firms and Associate Consulting Firms, and then into large, medium and small firms for the purpose of monthly fees.

Accreditation

We do not have an accreditation program and have not yet discussed on having one.

History

On February 24th, 1958, the “Colegio de Graduados en Relaciones Públicas” [Public Relations Graduate Association] was created, and some months later, on June 25th, the “Asociación Argentina de Relaciones Públicas” [Argentina Public Relations Association] followed suit. Years later, on June 7th, 1961, the “Círculo Argentino de Profesionales de Relaciones Públicas” [Argentine Society of Public Relations Professionals] was created, founding in turn the “Escuela de Relaciones Públicas” [School of Public Relations] on June 4th, 1962.

The advent of these three institutions was then the exponents of a profession in the early days of expansion, finding its top continental referents in both Argentina and the US.

During the 1960s, the organization of the first Inter-American Public Relations Conferences began, the first being held in Mexico in 1960, followed by Caracas, 1961; Santiago de Chile, 1962, and Rio de Janeiro, 1963.

In our country, Universidad Argentina de la Empresa (UADE) created the Public Relations Program in 1964 –a critical step for the profession.

On a regional basis, at the heart of the Confederación Interamericana de Relaciones Públicas (CONFIARP) [Inter-American Confederation of Public Relations] –formerly the Federación Interamericana de Asociaciones de Relaciones Públicas (FIARP) [Inter-American Federation of Public Relations Associations]-, Argentina held outstanding positions, such as the deputy chairmanship in 1969, 1979, and 1981, and the chairmanship of the above institution between 1969 and 1972.

Then, events and decades went by at a breathtaking speed. In 1988, by Resolution No. 1245/88, the Ministry of Culture and Education set forth the obligations under the Undergraduate Degree in Public Relations [Licenciado] expressed in its Section 1, applicable to “recognized

National, Provincial, and Private Universities.”

As the discussion about the professional role of public relations loomed large, and after subsequent mergers, the “Consejo Profesional de Relaciones Públicas” was founded in 1989.

Since 1990, new global corporations have started to arrive, bringing along international consulting firms, while the national consulting firms began to flourish.

At present, the Consejo Profesional accompanies those who practice Public Relations, together with companies, universities, and consulting firms.

On October 2007 argentine corresponding authorities approved the name of Consejo Profesional de Relaciones Públicas de la República Argentina.